Secrets
by Velvet Mouse
Summary: Sometimes, the unstoppable force of love meets the unmoveable block of a secret. Guess which wins? Jim/Bones background, Joanna & Pike foreground.


Summary: Sometimes, the unstoppable force of love meets the unmoveable block of a secret. Guess which wins?

Originally written for FandomStockings in 2010.

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><p>"Captain?" Uhura's voice held a note of surprise that Kirk did not usually hear in his unflappable communications officer. "Priority transmission for you from Earth. Sir, it's from Admiral Pike and . . . your daughter?" Her eyes widened comically as that last bit of information came through.<p>

Kirk forced a laugh. "Well, I'm sure there are betting pools around this ship that just closed down, right? All I ask is that the winners consider donating their winnings to some worthy cause - like my newly established alimony fund. Lieutenant, please route the call to my ready room."

As soon as he was off the bridge, though, Kirk dropped the jovial act, and his mouth set in a grim line. Despite his protestations, he knew exactly who was calling - and if she had gone to Admiral Pike, something was very wrong indeed.

He slapped the view screen in his ready room viciously. "Kirk here."

The face of Christopher Pike filled the screen. He looked as put together as usual, slight shadow along his jaw-line and slightly-tussled hair the only indicators that anything was out of the ordinary.

"Ah, Jim. Good. I was hoping we would catch you live. I have someone here who needs very much to speak with you."

"Wait, she's there?" Kirk exclaimed. "I thought this was going to be a three-way call?"

"No, she's here alright. But I'll let her explain." Pike reached over to the side and drew a young teenaged girl before the screen. Her dark hair was disheveled and her eyes were red-rimmed from crying. "Go ahead, sweetheart," Pike said gently. "He won't be mad at you."

Kirk's features immediately softened. "What's wrong, Jo-jo Bear? Believe me, Uncle Chris is right. Unless you managed to blow up a whole planet, I won't be mad at you."

The corner's of the girl's mouth twitched slightly, but her voice trembled. "I'm sorry, Papa, please don't be mad at me. I was so scared and I didn't know what else to do. I don't want to be sent away!" Her face crumpled again, and she angrily dashed tears away.

"Sent away? What's going on? Why are you even in San Francisco, anyway? Take a deep breath, Jo, and start from the beginning. Last I had heard you were still in Savannah enjoying your summer break."

Joanna McCoy took a deep breath and looked straight into the view screen. "I was. But then Mom and Casey started talking about how I was getting 'too wild' and needed 'to be taught proper discipline.'" Her voice was low and mocking.

"What happened that made them say these things, Jo?" Kirk asked with as much patience as he could muster. "I saw your grades. You need to work on a few subjects, but there weren't any disasters. And I didn't see any formal disciplining on your transcript."

"They tried to enroll me in a summer debate camp, because it would 'be good practice for law school.' Papa, I tried to tell them that I didn't want to go! I tried to be polite about it, like you and Daddy taught me. I explained that I really hated debate class and I don't want to be a lawyer like Mom. I even said that if they wanted me to take a summer class, I'd really like to take another biology class, or even the Red Cross Health and Safety course. That's when they started to flip out, and Mom told me I was never going to make it as a scientist and that I was going to be a lawyer like her, and I should just accept it now."

"Oh, Jo. What happened then?"

Joanna looked at her feet sheepishly. "I, um, might have showed up to the debate camp on the first day with a change-of-course form to switch me into the organic chemistry class that ran at the same time. And I might have, um, forged Mom's signature on it."

"_Joanna!_" Kirk exclaimed. He tried to look stern and reproving, but he was afraid the twitching of his lips gave him away.

"I know, I know. I did really well in the chem class, though! I got an award for being the only one in the class to get perfect scores on all the tests. And, um, that's when Mom and Casey found out what I had done. Two weeks ago, the told me that since they obviously had failed as parents, I needed a stronger hand to teach me the appropriate discipline. Then they told me that I was enrolled in the Proxima Reform School and would be there for all of high school."

Jim winced. The all-girls school was known galaxy-wide for having an iron hand in dealing with troubled teens. "What then?"

"We took a shuttle to San Fran last night so they could put me on the next transport out to Proxima. After we checked into the hotel, I waited until I knew Mom and Casey were asleep and then I hacked the lock on my room, snuck out, and contacted Uncle Chris using the code you gave me from one of the public comm terminals." Her face crumpled again. "Please, Papa, don't let them send me away like that. I'll be good, I swear. I'll even become a lawyer like Mom wants. Just don't let them send me _there_!"

"Shh, Joanna," Kirk soothed, wishing he could reach out and comfort his daughter. "I won't let them do that to you. Now why don't you go lie down on the couch in Uncle Chris's living room, while he and I figure out what to do? Don't go anywhere without him or Yeoman Colt, okay? You'll be safe enough in Chris's apartment. And Joanna? Your Dad and I are very proud of you - but don't let me ever catch you forging signatures again, okay?"

Joanna nodded vigorously, and then Pike escorted her out of the room. He returned a few minutes later.

"I need your help, Chris. I need you to - "

"Already done, Jim. As soon as Joanna called me, I put a hold on her travel visa. Even if that damned woman got her on the transport, the ship would never get clearance to leave with Joanna on board."

Jim breathed out a sigh of relief. That bought them a little time, anyway.

"Dammit, Chris, what can we do? I can't see anything that Joanna's really done to warrant being shipped off to Proxima. God knows I did worse shit when I was her age! They'll eat her alive there. She's not a bad kid! As far as I can tell, her only crime not wanting to be railroaded into being a clone of her mom. It's not fair that Jocelyn and Casey get to make a decision like this without any input from Bones!"

Pike cleared his throat. "Actually, they can't. Even though Joanna has been primarily living with her mother, Jocelyn and Leonard have joint custody. And even though we've kept it quiet, your adoption of her is completely legal. So technically, you and your doctor have a stronger claim over the girl - Casey is only her step-father, he never adopted her. Besides," Pike continued, "by Federation law, the decision to send a minor off-world to live without any of her legal guardians is a decision that must be agreed upon by _all_of said legal guardians. I can file a formal complaint on your behalf, if you wish."

"Yes!" Kirk exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. "I've got you now, you bitch!"

"Jim," Pike cautioned, though he was laughing too, "if we do this, everything will come out. Your marriage to McCoy, your adoption of Joanna. I won't be able to keep it under wraps. Now, enough of the brass know that you shouldn't have any problem from Starfleet Command. They know by now that they can't afford to lose you or Dr. McCoy from their flagship. But. . ."

Kirk took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Let's do it. The only reason we kept it secret for so long was to protect Joanna, and because Command asked us to. If we can protect her better by being open about it, and if Command is okay with it, then we have to do it."

Pike nodded. "I'll take care of Command," he said grimly. "If necessary, I'll point out that protecting innocents like Joanna is part of the damned oath we've all taken. I'll have someone from Legal contact you as soon as possible to go over any necessary details. You get the hard part."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Telling your husband - and your crew."


End file.
